Straw Dogs 1971
7.4 / 10
Straw Dogs
David Sumner, a mild-mannered academic from the United States, marries Amy, an Englishwoman. In order to escape a hectic stateside lifestyle, David and his wife relocate to the small town in rural Cornwall where Amy was raised. There, David is ostracized by the brutish men of the village, including Amy's old flame, Charlie. Eventually the taunts escalate.
David Sumner, a mild-mannered academic from the United States, marries Amy, an Englishwoman. In order to escape a hectic stateside lifestyle, David and his wife relocate to the small town in rural Cornwall where Amy was raised. There, David is ostracized by the brutish men of the village, including Amy's old flame, Charlie. Eventually the taunts escalate.
Videos & Photos
All 1 Videos & 29 Photos
cast
Full Cast & Crew
... David Sumner
... Amy
... Tom Hedden
... Maj. John Scott
... Charlie Venner
... Chris Cawsey
User reviews
See All 1 Reviews23 Jun 2021 by John Chard
This is where I live. This is me. I will not allow violence against this house. Straw Dogs is directed by Sam Peknipah and Peckinpah co-adapts to screen play with David Zelag Goodman from the novel "The Siege of Trencher's Farm" written by Gordon Williams. It stars Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, T.P. McKenna, Del Henney and Ken Hutchison. Music is by Jerry Fielding and cinematography by John Coquillon. A young American maths teacher and his English wife move to the rural English village where she was raised and face increasingly vicious harassment from the locals... One of Peckinpah's masterpieces (yes you can have more than one), Straw Dogs is an uncompromising dissection of violence, machismo and boundary pushing of the human condition. Controversy around the film reigned supreme upon release (and long into the dead part of the video nasty era 1980s), and in fact still today it is still pored over as an abject lesson in audience manipulation. For a s the power struggle between a husband and wife against their abusers reaches boiling point, ultra violence and sexual assault attacks the viewer's senses. Peckinpah is in his pomp here, making us observers complicit in the ultimate cynical premise. It's not so much that violence begets violence, but that a mild mannered man has to resort to extreme violence - thus repelling his once firm code of morals - in order to defend what should in fact be his right. Hoffman is excellent, layering the character arc to perfection, while George as his wife is sexually suggestive, spiteful and positively superb in bringing to vivid life such a challenging characterisation. As the director (see what he could do when not pestered by studio execs) pulls the audience's strings, and Fielding lays a haunting musical score over proceedings (Oscar Nominated), we have been privy to one of the best and most caustic observations of violence put on the screen. 10/10
Release Date:
Nov 25, 1971 (United Kingdom,United States)
Run Time:
1hr 56`
MMPA Rating:
R
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
United Kingdom,United States
Status:
Released
Plot Keywords:
Related Movies To
Straw Dogs
This is where I live. This is me. I will not allow violence against this house. Straw Dogs is directed by Sam Peknipah and Peckinpah co-adapts to screen play with David Zelag Goodman from the novel "The Siege of Trencher's Farm" written by Gordon Williams. It stars Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, T.P. McKenna, Del Henney and Ken Hutchison. Music is by Jerry Fielding and cinematography by John Coquillon. A young American maths teacher and his English wife move to the rural English village where she was raised and face increasingly vicious harassment from the locals... One of Peckinpah's masterpieces (yes you can have more than one), Straw Dogs is an uncompromising dissection of violence, machismo and boundary pushing of the human condition. Controversy around the film reigned supreme upon release (and long into the dead part of the video nasty era 1980s), and in fact still today it is still pored over as an abject lesson in audience manipulation. For a s the power struggle between a husband and wife against their abusers reaches boiling point, ultra violence and sexual assault attacks the viewer's senses. Peckinpah is in his pomp here, making us observers complicit in the ultimate cynical premise. It's not so much that violence begets violence, but that a mild mannered man has to resort to extreme violence - thus repelling his once firm code of morals - in order to defend what should in fact be his right. Hoffman is excellent, layering the character arc to perfection, while George as his wife is sexually suggestive, spiteful and positively superb in bringing to vivid life such a challenging characterisation. As the director (see what he could do when not pestered by studio execs) pulls the audience's strings, and Fielding lays a haunting musical score over proceedings (Oscar Nominated), we have been privy to one of the best and most caustic observations of violence put on the screen. 10/10
Cast & Crew of
Straw Dogs
Directors & Credit Writers
Cast
... David Sumner
... Amy
... Tom Hedden
... Maj. John Scott
... Charlie Venner
... Chris Cawsey
... Riddaway
... Norman Scutt
... Bobby Hedden
... Janice Hedden
... Harry Ware
... John Niles
... Louise Hood
... Rev. Barney Hood
... Mrs. Hebden (uncredited)
... Man in Pub (uncredited)
CF
Chloe Franks... Emma Hebden (uncredited)
... Bertie Hedden (uncredited)
... Henry Niles (uncredited)
Produced By
Videos & Photos of
Straw Dogs
Videos ( 1)
Photos ( 29 )
Related Movies To
Straw Dogs
How to Train Your Dragon (2025)
0 /10
On the rugged isle of Berk, where Vikings and dragons have been bitter enemies for generations, Hiccup stands apart, defying centuries of tradition when he befriends Toothless, a feared Night Fury dragon. Their unlikely bond reveals the true nature of dragons, challenging the very foundations of Viking society.
Run Time: 2hr 5` . MMPA: PG . Release: 06 Jun 2025
Director: Lizzie Pritchard , Dean DeBlois , Fraser Fennell-Ball
Producer: Michael A. Connolly , Chris Sanders , Dean DeBlois
Stars: Mason Thames , Nico Parker , Gerard Butler , Nick Frost , Julian Dennison , Gabriel Howell
M3GAN 2.0 (2025)
0 /10
After the underlying tech for M3GAN is stolen and misused by a powerful defense contractor to create a military-grade weapon known as Amelia, M3GAN's creator Gemma realizes that the only option is to resurrect M3GAN and give her a few upgrades, making her faster, stronger, and more lethal.
Run Time: 2hr . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 25 Jun 2025
Director: Pikky Lim , Guy Campbell , Gerard Johnstone
Producer: Monique Tourelle , Mark David Katchur , Annie Smith
Stars: Allison Williams , Violet McGraw , Jenna Davis , Amie Donald , Joshua Bassett , Ivanna Sakhno
House of Ga'a (2024)
0 /10
At the height of the Oyo Empire, the ferocious Bashorun Ga'a became more powerful than the kings he enthroned, only to be undone by his own blood.
Run Time: 2hr . MMPA: R . Release: 26 Jul 2024
Director: Bolanle Austen-Peters
Producer: Bolanle Austen-Peters
Stars: Femi Branch , Mike Afolarin , Funke Akindele , Toyin Abraham , Ibrahim Chatta , Femi Adebayo
First Shift (2024)
0 /10
NYPD veteran Mike and rookie Angela tackle a high-stakes day on New York's toughest streets, diving headfirst into a vortex of danger and action. Their adrenaline-fueled pursuits and unexpected threats unfold as they navigate perilous encounters. Amidst the chaos, intense challenges forge unbreakable bonds.
Run Time: 1hr 29` . MMPA: . Release: 30 Aug 2024
Director: Phillip Rush , Uwe Boll , Béla Baptiste
Producer: Rolland Smith , Anthony Argento , Ari Taub
Stars: Kristen Renton , Gino Anthony Pesi , James McMenamin , Garry Pastore , Willie C. Carpenter , Michael Emery
Bride Hard (2025)
0 /10
Sam is a secret agent whose toughest mission to date is pleasing her bride-to-be best friend at a lavish destination wedding. When a team of mercenaries crashes the party and takes the guests hostage, Sam is thrown into a fight unlike any before — one where she can’t risk blowing her cover or ruining the big day. As she takes on the bad guys in a high-stakes battle disguised as a fairy-tale affair, she realizes the real threat might be closer than she thinks.
Run Time: 1hr 45` . MMPA: R . Release: 19 Jun 2025
Director: Simon West
Producer: Bob Yari , Jason Ross Jallet , Cassian Elwes
Stars: Rebel Wilson , Anna Camp , Justin Hartley , Anna Chlumsky , Stephen Dorff , Gigi Zumbado
28 Years Later (2025)
0 /10
Twenty-eight years since the rage virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory, now, still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected. One such group lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily-defended causeway. When one member departs on a mission into the dark heart of the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well.
Run Time: 1hr 55` . MMPA: R . Release: 18 Jun 2025
Director: Sarah Mulberge , Lucy Hatherley , Danny Boyle
Producer: Rebecca Farhall , Cillian Murphy , Alex Garland
Stars: Cillian Murphy , Aaron Taylor-Johnson , Jodie Comer , Charlie Hunnam , Jack O'Connell , Ralph Fiennes
Superman (2025)
0 /10
Superman, a journalist in Metropolis, embarks on a journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent.
Run Time: 2hr 10` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 09 Jul 2025
Director: Ryan J. Pezdirc , Cam Everson , James Gunn
Producer: Terri Douglas , Galen Vaisman , Chantal Nong Vo
Stars: David Corenswet , Rachel Brosnahan , Isabela Merced , Nicholas Hoult , Skyler Gisondo , Edi Gathegi
Ice Road: Vengeance (2025)
0 /10
Big rig ice road driver Mike McCann travels to Nepal to scatter his late brother’s ashes on Mt. Everest. While on a packed tour bus traversing the deadly 12,000 ft. terrain of the infamous Road to the Sky, McCann and his mountain guide encounter a group of mercenaries and must fight to save themselves, the busload of innocent travelers, and the local villagers’ homeland.
Run Time: 1hr 53` . MMPA: R . Release: 27 Jun 2025
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Producer: David Buelow , Stevie Ray , Bart Rosenblatt
Stars: Liam Neeson , Fan Bingbing , Mahesh Jadu , Marcus Thomas , Bernard Curry , Michala Banas
Karate Kid: Legends (2025)
0 /10
After a family tragedy, kung fu prodigy Li Fong is uprooted from his home in Beijing and forced to move to New York City with his mother. When a new friend needs his help, Li enters a karate competition – but his skills alone aren't enough. Li's kung fu teacher Mr. Han enlists original Karate Kid Daniel LaRusso for help, and Li learns a new way to fight, merging their two styles into one for the ultimate martial arts showdown.
Run Time: 1hr 34` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 08 May 2025
Director: Shanna Roberts Salée , Jonathan Entwistle , Peng Zhang
Producer: Ralph Macchio , Karen Rosenfelt , Jenny Hinkey
Stars: Jackie Chan , Ralph Macchio , Ben Wang , Joshua Jackson , Sadie Stanley , Ming-Na Wen
Man with No Past (2025)
0 /10
Waking up in an unfamiliar city, a man with no memory must confront the mysteries of his own identity. However, his desperate search to uncover the past pits him against a powerful enemy, leading to a showdown that ultimately reveals the truth.
Run Time: 1hr 43` . MMPA: R . Release: 13 Jan 2025
Director: James Bamford
Producer: Fern Champion , Steven Paul , Scott Karol
Stars: Tim Fellingham , Jon Voight , Philip Winchester , Nathan Cooper , Marton Csokas , Charlotte Vega
Jurassic World Rebirth (2025)
0 /10
Five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, covert operations expert Zora Bennett is contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure genetic material from the world's three most massive dinosaurs. When Zora's operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized, they all find themselves stranded on an island where they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that's been hidden from the world for decades.
Run Time: 2hr 14` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 01 Jul 2025
Director: Ben Cooke , David Vickery , David Leitch
Producer: Jim Spencer , Kelly McCormick , Patrick Crowley
Stars: Scarlett Johansson , Jonathan Bailey , Manuel Garcia-Rulfo , Rupert Friend , Mahershala Ali , Richard Gadd
Ballerina (2025)
0 /10
Taking place during the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Eve Macarro begins her training in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma.
Run Time: 2hr 5` . MMPA: R . Release: 04 Jun 2025
Director: Matej Kricner , Len Wiseman , Chad Stahelski
Producer: Kevan Van Thompson , Erica Lee , Basil Iwanyk
Stars: Ana de Armas , Ian McShane , Anjelica Huston , Norman Reedus , Keanu Reeves , Lance Reddick